Charlotte
by adifferenttateofmind
Summary: Charlotte loves Tate. Tate loves Charlotte. Life is perfect. Until one last act of insanity changes them forever.
1. Chapter 1

_Bang. Bang._

Gunshots.

Charlotte Winters stiffened, her muscles tensing as heavy footsteps passed by. She held her breath until her head began to swim, then took a deep breath and started again. Her hiding place, a small nook directly under the librarian's desk, gave no view of the events happening around her, but the smallest sound burned it all to memory.

"Do you believe in God?"

It was a boy's voice. That much was obvious.

"Yes."

That was a girl. Her voice came out as no more then a squeak, sending shivers up and down Charlotte's spine.

_Bang._

Then she was gone. Her body thudded against the linoleum.

"No, no. Please, no!"

Another boy's voice. A familiar boy. Kevin Gedman. Pleading.

_Bang._

And then he was gone. No thud, but Charlotte could easily imagine the blood steadily flowing out of his wound.

A choked laugh caught in Charlotte's throat. Her eyes widened as she covered her mouth, terrified. She wasn't like them. She would never be like them. He had promised he would keep her safe. Away from them.

_Bang._

Whimpering.

The shots were getting closer now. Charlotte kept her hands clamped over her mouth and closed her eyes, trying to forget the bubble of laughter that was staining to escape her throat. She was shaking now.

_Bang._

_Bang._

Silence.

Charlotte slowly allowed her eyes to open and peeled her hands away from her mouth. Sirens were piercing in the distance, but everything sounded distant, muffled. Someone was whistling a tune too light for the occasion. She stood up on wobbly legs and locked eyes with the shooter.

Five corpses, one unconscious teacher.

And all she could do was stare at him.

"Tate _goddamn _Langdon."

The laughter fought its way out of her chest as she flung herself into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. The shotgun fell from his hands as he instinctively placed his hands on her lower back, shooting her a crooked grin.

"Charlotte Winters, I applaud your acting skills." Tate laughed, pressing his forehead to hers.

Before she could reply, Tate pushed his lips against hers, sending a rush of heat from her stomach to her toes. Together, they ignored to corpses and ignored the sirens. Melting into each other. Becoming one person. Only when the teacher started screaming through his haze did they back away with sly grins.

"You are a goddamn genius!" Charlotte whooped through her smile as Tate grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the school. "I love you!"

* * *

**A/N: Hey there people. Sorry this is such a short chapter, but I needed something to set the tone for the story**

**If you guys have any questions, feel free to PM me or ask in the reviews. **

**This is set right after the school shooting and is Tate/OC. I promise it gets better.**

**I'm working on the next chapter now. Leave a review and favorite!**


	2. Chapter 2

Tate sat at the edge of his bed, shirtless and left in just his traditional holey jeans. Charlotte sat behind him, her arms looped around his neck, wearing his discarded Nirvana shirt as she left a trail of kisses from his neck, along his jaw line.

"The world is a filthy place."

Tate's voice was cold and sudden. It had been an hour of silence since they had left the school, broken only by a few muttered curses and muffled 'I love you's. Other than that, their lips had rarely left each other. It had been an hour of utter bliss.

"How so?" Charlotte asked as she gently pulled Tate onto his back, resting his head in her lap. She placed a light kiss on his forehead, her burgundy hair falling like a curtain on either side of his face. He closed his eyes and folded his hands over his chest, much like a corpse in a coffin.

"I don't know," Tate looked up to meet Charlotte's pale eyes with his dark ones and gave her a small, sad smile. He looked scared. "There's just so much pain, y'know? It's a filthy, goddamn horror show."

Charlotte grabbed Tate's left wrist and silently ran her thumb over the narrow scars that were there.

"I love you, Tate." Charlotte whispered, focused on the crisscrossing scars.

"I love you, Char." Tate whispered back, using Charlotte's grip on his wrist to pull her down into a kiss.

"Promise me you'll stop," Charlotte mumbled into his lips, never breaking the kiss. She ran her thumb over the scars again.

Tate pushed himself up, sitting on his knees in front of Charlotte. He cupped her chin in his hands and stared into her eyes.

"I promise."

He slid his fingers over hers, lacing their fingers together.

_He's killed people with those hands. They've been covered in blood, and now you're holding them like everything will be okay. Nothing will be okay. So close to you. Such an easy target. Such a naïve little girl._

Charlotte threw Tate's hands down, covering her ears as the voices rattled through her mind, all in different pitches and at the same time. It only happened when she was at this house, and only when she was with Tate.

"Tell it to go away, Char." Tate wrapped his arms around Charlotte's heaving shoulders and pressed his lips to her hair. "It'll go away, I promise. Just close your eyes and remember everything is going to be okay. Remember, I love you. Forever always."

"Go away!" Charlotte shrieked, trying to relax in Tate's arms. But the voices just became louder and angrier. They were shouting. Telling her to get out. To leave. To forget.

_Bang._

A gunshot in her head, and the voices were gone. Charlotte's eyes went wide as her body seized up. She clawed at Tate's bare chest, and he winced as he pulled her towards him.

"Charlotte! Char, they're gone, I promised you they would leave. Baby, please, they're gone."

Tate pulled Charlotte to his chest and began sobbing, shaking all over. His grip around her shoulders tightened until her body relaxed. He put his forehead to hers, leaving them only inches apart.

"Tate…"

Charlotte grabbed the back of Tate's neck and pulled him towards her, closing the gap between them with a passionate kiss. They collapsed backwards onto the bed, molding into each other. Becoming one. Always Tate and Charlotte, Charlotte and Tate.

"I'm not normal, you know." Tate muttered into her mouth.

"I know," Charlotte replied, her lips never moving from his.

"I'm dangerous, you know."

"_And I don't care." _she moaned, pulling him closer.

* * *

"You're the only light I've ever know, Charlotte."

The ceiling fan circled lazily over their heads, blowing cool air gently onto their entangled bodies. Tate had his arms crossed behind his head, staring as the fan rotated around and around, never going anywhere. Staring at nothing. Staring at everything.

Charlotte propped herself up to rest her chin on his pale chest, waiting for him to finish.

"If you love somebody, you should never hurt them. Never. And I don't want to hurt you, Char. But I've done horrible things. I've cheated, I've killed." He was sobbing now, pushing the heels of his hands into his eyes as his fingers clawed at his forehead. "I've sinned, I've hated. Charlotte, you know it, and I can't do this to you. I don't want to hurt you next."

Tate met Charlotte's eyes, his wide and flashing with anger. He pulled her up onto him and closed his eyes, letting his head flop back against the pillow in defeat, still shuddering violently from the sobs. Charlotte placed her palms flat on his chest and gently kissed his neck.

"Tate Langdon," Charlotte spoke through her kisses. "I love you, and I'll always love you, no matter what we have to go through together. And nothing you ever do will hurt me."

"Never leave me, Char." Tate groaned and wrapped his arms protectively around Charlotte, who closed her eyes peacefully. "I'm nothing without you."

"Never."

_Bang._

Tate and Charlotte shot up, his arms still wrapped around her bare waist. It wasn't a gun this time, but a car door slamming shut. Tate's eyes widened with realization.

"Goddamn, shit!" Tate jumped out of the bed, pulling on his boxers and pants in record time. More care doors were being slammed shut outside of the house as Tate rushed to the window. He peered out and, as if it confirmed his suspicions, cursed again.

"Charlotte, listen to me." He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, pulling her out of the bed and against him. "Get clothes on, get in the closet. Do not come out until it's safe, do you understand me?" He looked down into her pale eyes. "Do not open your eyes."

Charlotte nodded, almost frozen with fear. She scooped up Tate's neglected Nirvana shirt and her grey leggings, stumbling into the closet and pulling them on carelessly, her eyes locked on Tate as he raced to remove any evidence of Charlotte from the room.

"Close your eyes and remember everything is going to be okay," Tate mumbled, giving Charlotte a slow kiss.

Cursing under his breath, Tate pulled on a blue long-sleeved jumper and sat down on his bed. From her vantage point in the closet, Charlotte could see him mouth something to her before the door slammed open and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"_I love you."_

_Bang._

* * *

Charlotte kept her eyes closed much longer then she needed to, but she didn't want to see anything that had just happened, let alone remember what had just happened.

Silent tears stained her cheeks, brushed away mechanically, as she opened her eyes. The house seemed quieter, the silence thick enough that even the walls seemed to be screaming out. A weight was settling in the room, and the smell of burning metal lingered in the air.

Tate was gone.

Gone.

It seemed as if time had actually stopped, but the howling sobs from downstairs and the door slamming shut broke through the shock. She crawled out of the closet and collapsed on her boyfriend's bed.

Her _dead _boyfriend's bed.

Charlotte opened her mouth and screamed. Tears started the flow again, but she didn't care. The sobbing downstairs stopped suddenly, but she didn't notice. Charlotte screamed at something. Charlotte screamed at everything. Charlotte screamed for Tate.

Tate, who had held her when her brother was diagnosed with bone cancer.

Tate, who had rescued her from every disastrous moment.

Tate, who she had given everything to.

Tate, who had promised to never leave.

"_Never leave me, Char. I'm nothing without you."_

Charlotte wailed until everything went black.

* * *

When she found control over herself again, she found herself in the basement, holding a razor from Tate's stash, which was now scattered on the floor next to her.

She couldn't even recognize herself. The voices were muffled and loud, blending together into a harsh screech that overtook her emotions again. All she could truly comprehend was Tate, nodding her ahead as the voices continued their god-awful screeching.

_Do it._

The voices broke through once, then continued their screeching. Charlotte sliced the razor into her wrist, her face contouring with pain, but she couldn't find any power to scream with. She never stopped, and the pain eventually subsided into a dull throbbing as she traced the letters into her arm.

T

A

I

N

T

Over and over, deeper and deeper. Blood was spraying against Tate's Nirvana shirt and pooled through the hem of her leggings. Her vision went fuzzy, and she gave herself in as her arms continued cutting, her mind void of any action. It was like watching an old movie.

"You said you would never leave me!" Charlotte screamed at herself, wrapping her arms around her shoulders and dropping to her knees.

A feeling that could only be explained as longing wrapped itself around her waist and she dropped the razor, sinking into the cold, numb feeling of death.

* * *

**A/N: Hey there again people. Much longer, well-deserved chapter. **

**Sorry for any OOC-ness, but I do hope it gives you a better insight to Charlotte and Tate's relationship.**

**Next chapters will be ghost.**

**Drop a review or PM me for anything and everything. Much obliged.**


	3. Chapter 3

Charlotte was nowhere for a long time.

She felt as if a train had derailed in her brain. Nothing could get through to her. She tried to grab at any memory, something that would help to keep her sanity, but all she could reach were wisps that melted through her fingers. She sat in the darkness as time flickered past, trying to focus on the single word her heart beat out.

_Tate._

The word left a strange mixture of sorrow tinged with overwhelming lust behind. The memory of bitter winter wind, warm embraces, and burning metal licked at the edges of Charlotte's subconscious, none of them managing to seep through. The name had a familiar ring to it, but a hollowness rang through her chest and brought tears to her eyes. Charlotte couldn't muster up a single image of the thing that was keeping her alive.

Nowhere was dark. Images would flash around, faceless images that made her wonder what was real and what was not.

_A women crying as a black car pulled away._

_A boy collapsed on a park bench._

_A blonde laying in bed shirtless, jamming his palms into his eyes._

The blonde boy appeared often.

That, mixed with the lack of oxygen and the feeling of being crushed, gave a sense of constant panic to Charlotte. Her left arm was beginning to sting and her vision was going hazy around the edges. The images began to wobble as the oxygen stopped filtering in.

A white light surged in the darkness, as if someone had flicked a light switch, blurring the images into near nothing and blinding Charlotte. This light was anything but peaceful and beckoning. It offered a safe haven, but took prisoner those who entered. Those who were weak-willed and easily hurt. Those who sought comfort when all was lost.

Those like Charlotte.

The last thing she saw before the light overtook her was a beautifully faded blonde woman, waiting for her with open arms.

* * *

**A/N: Total apologies to all of those who have been waiting for a Charlotte update, and for making this such a short, filler chapter.**

**With rehearsals, school, and testing, plus a lack of creativity, I had nothing to write.**

**Next chapter will be up as soon as humanly possible, I swear on Netflix.**

**Leave reviews and don't be afraid to PM me. I want and CRAVE feedback from you guys. What do you think of the plot-twist? Imma stick with it, be a little different.**


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